There are many ways to earn hotel points, from credit cards with lucrative welcome offers to hotel stays, dining programs, and shopping portals. But sometimes, you may find yourself just a few thousand points short of booking your next award. In those situations, you might wonder whether buying hotel points outright makes sense.
Most major hotel chains allow members to buy points directly. However, just because you can buy hotel points doesn’t mean you should. In most cases, purchasing points at standard pricing is a poor value unless you are topping off your account or taking advantage of a strong promotion.
Buying hotel points can make sense in very specific situations, but most of the time you’re overpaying unless there’s a sizable bonus and a clear redemption in mind.
- Best time to buy hotel points: During promotions offering large bonuses (often 75%–100%).
- Best use case: Topping off your account for a specific award redemption.
- Usually a bad deal: Buying points at standard pricing with no redemption planned.
- Rule of thumb: If you need to buy ~25–50% or more of the points required, the math rarely works out in your favor.
In this guide, we’ll walk through when buying hotel points can make sense, which hotels let you buy points, how to evaluate promotions, and how to avoid overpaying for points that deliver little value.
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Should You Ever Buy Hotel Points?
Yes, but only when a purchase offers substantial value per dollar and you have a specific stay in mind.
If you’re just a few thousand points short of booking an award night, buying points can be a reasonable way to bridge the gap. On the other hand, if you’re still far from the required amount — for example, needing to buy half or more of the points for a stay — it usually doesn’t make sense. In that case, you may end up paying more for the points you purchase than the outright cost to book that same stay with cash.
You can book the Delta Hotels New York Times Square for $180 a night or 61,000 Bonvoy points. Let’s say you already have 40,000 Bonvoy points in your account. You would need to purchase an additional 21,000 points which will cost you just under $270. So, just to purchase the points needed to cover the difference, you’d be paying nearly $100 more than if you booked the cash rate. In this example, you will really only start to see any meaningful value from points purchases if your current balance is around 55,000 points.
Which Hotel Programs Let You Buy Points?
Almost every major hotel loyalty program allows members to buy points. This is a key difference compared to airline programs, where a few major carriers do not allow mileage purchases at all. Independent hotels and small boutique chains are typically the exception.
List of Hotel Programs That Let You Buy Points
| Airline | Program | Conditions | Link to Portal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best Western | Best Western Rewards | Buy Best Western points in increments of 1,000 up to 25,000 (with bonus) per day. Purchase up to 100,000 points (or 125,000 with bonus) in a calendar year. | Buy Best Western Points |
| Choice Hotels | Choice Privileges | Buy Choice Privileges points in increments of 1,000. Purchase up to 180,000 points in a calendar year. | Buy Choice Hotels Points |
| Hilton | Hilton Honors | Purchase Hilton Honors points in increments of 1,000. Purchase up to 160,000 points in a calendar year not including promotional bonuses. | Buy Hilton Points |
| Hyatt | World of Hyatt | Buy World of Hyatt points starting at 2,000 points in increments of 1,000. Purchase up to 55,000 points in a calendar year not including promotional bonuses. | Buy Hyatt Points |
| IHG Hotels & Resorts | IHG One Rewards | Buy IHG One points in increments of 1,000. Purchase up to 250,000 points in a calendar year not including promotional bonuses. | Buy IHG One Points |
| Marriott | Marriott Bonvoy | Buy Marriott Bonvoy points in increments of 1,000. Purchase up to 100,000 points in a calendar year not including promotional bonuses. | Buy Marriott Points |
| Radisson | Radisson Rewards | Buy Radisson Rewards points in increments of 1,000. Purchase up to 250,000 points in calendar year not including promotional bonuses. | Buy Radisson Points |
| Wyndham Hotels & Resorts | Wyndham Rewards | Buy Wyndham Rewards points in increments of 1,000. Purchase up to 100,000 points in a calendar year not including promotional bonuses. | Buy Wyndham Rewards Points |
In addition to buying points outright, many hotel programs also offer Points + Cash bookings. While this can sometimes be a better deal than purchasing points outright, it’s still important to compare the effective nightly rate against the cash price.
Buy Marriott Bonvoy points to redeem at luxury properties like the Ritz-Carlton Bali. (Image courtesy of Ritz-Carlton)
How Do You Know If Buying Points Is a Good Deal?
The core metric is cost per point. To evaluate whether a purchase makes sense, you need to compare what you’re paying per point to a realistic redemption value.
Cost per point = Total cost ÷ Total points received (including bonuses)
Buying hotel points is almost never a good deal outside of promotions. When bonuses are offered, however, the math can occasionally work in your favor.
During an 80% IHG One Rewards bonus promotion, purchasing 250,000 points yields 450,000 total points for $2,500. That works out to roughly 0.56 cents per point. According to AwardWallet’s latest valuations, IHG points are worth about 0.68 cents each, meaning this purchase could make sense with a clear redemption in mind.
Buying 55,000 World of Hyatt points with a 20% bonus costs $1,320 for 66,000 points, or 2.0 cents per point. Hyatt points are typically valued around 2.1–2.2 cents, leaving very little margin. Even with the bonus, this is rarely worth doing in bulk.
Buy hotel points during strong promotions and redeem them for high-value stays, such as at the Hotel Indigo Grand Cayman. (Image courtesy of IHG Hotels & Resorts)
Current Promotions on Buying Hotel Points
If you’re going to buy points, promotions are where the math can start to work out in your favor.
Here are some current offers that offer bonus points when buying hotel points:
| Program | Promotion | End Date | Link to Promotion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hilton Honors | Earn up to 100% bonus points | December 31, 2025 | Buy Hilton Points |
| World of Hyatt | Earn up to a 20% discount | December 20, 2025 | Buy Hyatt Points |
| Wyndham Rewards | Earn up to 100% bonus points | December 31, 2025 | Buy Wyndham Rewards Points |
Double Dipping on Hotel Points Purchases
Occasionally, you can earn extra points on the purchase itself. But, earning extra points when buying points is a rarity as most hotel point purchases are processed by third parties.
Most hotel programs sell points via platforms like Points.com. As a result, these purchases usually code as third-party transactions rather than hotel spend, meaning you’ll earn only base rewards even when using a co-branded credit card.
Always check your card’s fine print before assuming a points purchase will earn bonus rewards.
There is some good news. If you hold a co-branded credit card that allows you to earn free nights or elite status after meeting minimum spend requirements, most account activity will count towards these spend requirements.
So, this means that even though buying points won’t earn bonus points, these purchases will still count towards any spending requirements.
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Will Buying Hotel Points Help You Earn Elite Status?
No. Purchased points do not count toward elite status.
While some hotel programs award elite status based on nights stayed rather than points earned, buying points is never a shortcut to elite qualification. Additionally, for elite status tiers that require a member to reach a minimum spend threshold, these purchases are almost always excluded and will not count toward this minimum spend requirement.
Points purchased won’t count toward elite status requirements. (Image by Takeoff to Travel)
The Bottom Line
Buying hotel points can be useful, but only when you’ve done the math. For points purchases to make sense, you’ll want to buying during a lucrative promotion or have a specific award redemption in mind. If you’re only a few thousand points short of an award night, purchasing the difference can be a fast, straightforward way to lock in a redemption without waiting on a credit card bonus, transfers, or additional paid stays.
Most of the time, though, buying points at standard pricing is a poor value. Many programs sell points at inflated rates, and even promotions can look better on paper than they are in practice. A solid bonus does not automatically mean a good deal. You still need a redemption where the cash rate is meaningfully higher than the all-in cost of the points you are using.
Before you buy:
- Compare cash rates vs. points: Calculate what you would pay out of pocket to buy the points you need, then compare that to the total cash rate.
- Check your cost per point: Divide the total purchase cost by the total points you will receive (including any bonus), then compare that number to a realistic valuation.
- Be honest about the gap: If you need to buy a large portion of the points needed (often ~25–50% or more), the math rarely works out in your favor. In those cases, you are often better off paying cash or earning points through credit card spend and hotel stays.
If the math clearly favors points, buying a small top-off during a promotion can be a smart move. Nevertheless, when in doubt, paying cash is often the better play.
Do you ever buy hotel points? What’s the best value you’ve ever received when purchasing points?
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